A Fine and rare George III Mahogany Side Table Circa 1760

Replaced corner brackets.

G. Beard & J. Goodison, English Furniture 1500-1840, London, 1987, p. 135, fig. 5

Very good restored condition. Lovely blind-fret carving to the legs, nice color and surface. The top is lighter in color than the base and now with a glossy finish. Corner brackets replaced. The top with slight horizontal ripple and small infilled divet. Old marks and scratches to frieze with small repairs and some infilling. The legs with old marks and scratches, rubbing and chips to feet.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The carved fretwork decoration on the present table demonstrates the influence of such leading London cabinet makers as Ince and Mayhew and Thomas Chippendale, whose respective design books published over the course of a decade from the 1750s to 1760s  promoted the fashion for an amalgam of styles including Gothick, Chinese and Rococo.  

Mayhew and Ince’s designs in The Universal System of Household Furniture, 1762, for ‘Side Board Tables’, pls. XI-XII, incorporate fretwork carving to the friezes and legs. Chippendale provides two designs for ‘Sideboard Tables’ with blind-fret carving to the friezes in The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, 3^rd ed., 1762, pls. LVII-LVIII. Also included in the Director were designs for ‘Frets’, pls. CXCII-CXCIII, and ‘Gothick frets’, pl. CXCVI, a variation of which is found on this table. 

A suite of mahogany furniture with very similar carving to the legs, possibly supplied to George Weller-Poley Esq., Boxted Hall, Bury St. Edmonds, Suffolk, was sold, Christie’s, London, July 7, 1997 and consisted of a set of sixteen dining chairs (lot 20, £340,000), two pair of stools (lot 21, £44,000 and lot 22, £38,000) and a pair of card tables (lot 23, £34,000). The card tables have fretwork carving of an acanthus spray above a bell, a lozenge enclosing a rope twist, interlaced fretwork centered by a rosette, a lozenge enclosing a rope twist, a fretwork panel and ending in block feet; similarly carved, the legs of the chairs and stools end with a rope twist within a lozenge above block feet. 

The bell carving to the legs is found on designs for a 'Parlour Chair', pl. 4 and a 'Chinese Chair' by Robert Manwaring, The Cabinet and Chair-Maker's Real Friend and Companion, 1765, pl. XII.  Interestingly, there is also rope twist carving below the bell on both designs, a variation found on both the Weller-Poley suite and the present table. The bell motif is apparently unique in design books of the period.

A related tea table with fret-carved galleried top, serpentine frieze, egg-and-dart-carved edge and similar carving to the legs was sold Christie's New York, April 20, 1985, lot 132, and another, sold in these rooms, Property from the Collection of the late John A. McCone, January 31, 1992, lot 426.

A pair of games tables with similar carving to the legs was sold, Christie’s, New York, April 12, 1996, lot 169.